Ways To Keep Warm
by Higuchimon
Summary: [one-shot, Ruki x Ryou/Ryou x Ruki] Thanks to a Meramon and a chilly theater, things are running hot and cold for Ruki and Ryou!


_**Legal Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or anything here. They're all owned by Toei Entertainment in the long run, and I hope they don't mind me playing in the sandbox.   
**Title:** Ways Of Keeping Warm   
**Romance:** Ryou/Ruki   
**Rated:** PG   
**Season/Timeline:** About five years after the events of **Digimon Tamers**. For them, it's the year 2012.   
**Summary:** Thanks to a Meramon and a chilly theater, things are running hot and cold for Ruki and Ryou!   
**For:** Frozen Phoenix: 200 kiriban at the Snowfields. I finally got it done!_

"When you said this was going to be one hot night, I didn't think you mean it like _this_!" Ryou shouted sharply as he and Ruki tumbled to opposite sides of the pathway, or anywhere that seemed to be away from the fiery blasts of the very annoyed Meramon that had materialized in the middle of Shinjuku Central Park. The arrival might not have been so annoying, if it hadn't decided they looked like something that should be destroyed, just because they happened to be there at the time. Of course, Ryou shouting that they were Digimon Tamers and it was best not to bother them probably hadn't helped matters. 

"What, you don't like fighting evil Digimon before dinner? I hear it sharpens the appetite." 

The older Tamer just rolled his eyes; dating Ruki meant being more subject than usual to her tart tongue. It wasn't anything he wasn't used to after five years of knowing her and one year of dating her. "So what are we going to do? We can't just keep on running from this thing." 

Ruki ducked under a nearby bush and stared at the fiery creature laughing at them. Her fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly; how could this be happening? _Two of the best Tamers in the world and this stupid **Adult** has us hiding in shrubbery. This had better not get on my resume._

"What's the matter, _Tamers_? Afraid of a little fire?" The Digimon tossed a fireball back and forth a little, then hurled it directly at where Ryou was hiding behind a park bench. He threw himself out from under it just in time to avoid being flash-fried, diving for the nearest large tree. 

_You know, hiding behind trees and bushes when we're up against something that can burn anything it touches probably isn't the best idea._ He refused to say anything to Ruki, though. She knew that as well as he did, but they didn't have too many options at the moment. He peeked back to where he'd been hiding, to see the bench was now a charred twisted hunk of metal. _And it's not like the things that **aren't** wood are much more protection. We are in it so deep._

This wouldn't have been much of a problem if either Renamon or Cyber Dramon had happened to be there. Unfortunately, this didn't happen to be so. Cyber Dramon wasn't exactly the world's biggest romantic, so he tended not to come along on their dates. Renamon would sometimes shadow them, making certain Ruki wasn't bothered by any stray Wild Ones. Tonight, however, had been a little different. 

"This thing _would_ show up right when we're trying for a full year of dating." Ruki peeked out quickly to see what was going on, then pulled her head back in, reciting every swear word she could recall in Japanese, as well as the smatterings of Chinese and English she'd picked up from Jenrya and Alice respectively. It really didn't look good right now. 

There had to be something they could do, something that didn't involve getting made into the stir-fry special. _Are we close enough to that waterfall?_ She clearly remembered listening to the music of the water and stones not long before Meramon had made his most unwelcome appearance, and thinking about how it looked just as beautiful at night as it did in the day. Probably more so without all the people around getting in the way of the view. It wasn't a very _large_ waterfall, compared to the size of this thing, and she doubted it would be enough to quench him completely. But it might do until something better came along. Whatever something better wound up being. 

"Hey, flame-brain!" She leaped to her feet and yelled as loudly as she could. "Bet you can't catch me!" It wasn't easy not to think about how fatal this could wind up being. Not to mention just plain _painful_! 

"Ruki! What are you doing?" She could hear Ryou yelling, but blocked it out. She'd yell at him for interrupting her later. Right now she had a fire to put out. 

Meramon whirled over to stare at her as she came out from hiding. "You must have lost all your senses, human. I'm going to roast you alive!" 

"Hey, I've had living chaos think the same thing, and I'm still here to talk about it. You're nothing special." With that for a parting line, Ruki started running, just fast enough so the creature wouldn't be able to catch her or that she'd get out of sight. If she had to, she'd start throwing rocks at the thing, anything to keep its attention on her. 

The fiery Digimon raced after her, long strides eating up the ground and leaving little fiery footprints in his wake. Ruki dodged and swerved, darted and flipped around everything she could. Every move had one ultimate goal: getting to that waterfall. The closer she got, the more fancy footwork she began to perform, keeping Meramon's attention all on her and not on where he was going. _I don't know if he knows this area, but I don't want to take the chance of him figuring out what I'm doing._

Adrenaline pumped rapidly through her veins as she spied the sparkling waters ahead. She shifted into the next stage of the plan quickly, yanking off her leather jacket and shaking it out. _Now, if ashes-between-the-ears will just co-operate for this..._ This was the moment she wished she'd taken Jenrya up on those martial arts lessons. It could've been pretty helpful to know just how to fight with more than flailing limbs and cards just then. 

"_Burning Fist_!" Ruki threw herself face-first on the ground only a few instants before the attack would've taken her hair, and possibly her head, off. She clutched the jacket more tightly to her and squirmed around until she was on her back, staring up at him. 

"No more time to burn, human!" Meramon's fist glowed brilliantly with flames as he stalked closer to her. "Or should that be, time to burn _you_?" 

Ruki rolled her eyes and scrambled to her feet. "Drop the corny lines, would you? I've got plans for tonight and you're getting in the way." She took a firmer grip on the jacket and shoved herself forward, holding it between her hands. This had to work; she had no idea what else she was going to do if it didn't. 

With a solid _thump_, she landed on top of Meramon, driving him back a few paces. She wrapped the jacket around his head, the scent of burning leather filling her nostrils almost at once. Meramon struggled this way and that in a vain attempt to get her off of him. Ruki held on with all her strength, refusing to release her grip for so much as a heartbeat. This was just the beginning of what she had to do. 

"Human! What do you think you're doing? Get off of me!" Meramon stumbled about, wincing at the kicks and punches she was throwing at his chest as often as she could. "What are you _doing_? I can't see!" 

"That's kind the point." Ruki risked taking a quick look and grinned briefly. They were almost there. Just a few more steps. "I think it's time you had a nice shock of reality, and there's nothing better for that than a cold shower!" 

What Meramon said in reply is really not repeatable, or printable, but Ruki made a note of it anyway. She might be able to use those phrases some day. But for now, there was something else to do. She shoved herself away from Meramon, pushing him towards the fountain with all her strength. Still blinded by the seared remains of her jacket, the flaming Digimon stumbled over his own feet and collapsed over the edge of the fountain. 

Hot steam sizzled up at the contact of fire and water, and Ruki grinned to herself. Tamers 1, Meramon 0. 

Well, maybe she'd score him a half. Her jacket _was_ absolutely wrecked. She eyed where it floated in the water and considered grabbing it, when a roar of unbridled rage echoed all around. Meramon rose from the water, fire brighter and hotter than ever in fury, and his gaze fixated right on her. "That _hurt_!" 

"That was kind of the idea." Ruki grumbled, her gaze flicking here and there in a quick attempt to find her way out of this. Her mother was going to _kill_ her if this wound up making her late. Assuming Meramon didn't kill her first. 

"_Fox Leaf Arrowhead_!" Blasts of energy came from above, slicing into Meramon at a deadly angle. He screamed furiously, body jerking back and forth as each one slammed through him. Another barrage came before he could get his bearings back, then silence reigned abruptly as he shattered into data bits. A light breeze sprang up, scattering them carelessly, and Ruki sighed deeply. Just another night in the trenches for a Digimon Tamer. 

Renamon landed gracefully beside her partner, a slightly amused look in her eyes. "If this is the kind of date you and Ryou go on without me, perhaps I should pay closer attention." 

"Very funny, Renamon." Ruki watched as the last bits of Meramon faded out of existence, a touch of regret in her eyes. He could have been someone's partner, had the kind of relationship with someone that she had with Renamon, if he hadn't been so intent on destruction, chaos, and mayhem. Which had their place, of course, as she understood all too well at least once a month, but not the way he'd been doing it. _Well, that was his own lookout. Every Digimon who tries to come here knows how things work. If you cause too much trouble, we take you out, one way or the other._ It wasn't something she planned on stressing herself about. 

"You did quite well against him. If it hadn't been for you dousing his fire, I might've had a harder time defeating him," Renamon complimented her. "That was quite inventive." 

"Just made sense to put out a wildfire." Ruki grinned as she picked up the remains of her jacket and examined it ruefully. "Well, at least wrecking this was for a good cause. Saving our hides." She glanced over at Renamon, a momentary smile touching her lips. "And thanks for the help, too. I couldn't have done it without you." 

"That's why we're partners," Renamon reminded her. The vulpine Digimon motioned briefly behind Ruki, and the redhead turned to see Ryou coming up as fast as he could run. "I'll leave the two of you alone. Try not to get into any _more_ trouble like this?" 

"I don't make any promises." Ruki grinned a little mischeviously at her. "After all, what kind of a date would it be if we didn't get into _some_ kind of action?" 

Renamon raised her head for a moment, expressive eyes disbelieving. "Do you really want me to answer that?" 

Ruki was quite certain she didn't. 

"You're all right, aren't you, Ruki?" Ryou gasped as he came to a stop beside her, getting his breath back as swiftly as he could. "What were you thinking?" 

She rolled her eyes; sometimes he could be a little on the overprotective side. A good smack to the head usually fixed that. "I was thinking of saving our lives. And if you missed it, I did that. With Renamon's help, of course." 

"Of course." Ryou nodded his thanks at her Digimon. "So, I guess we should get going? The movie's going to start soon, and I don't want to miss the previews." 

"I don't mind if we do." Ruki waved farewell to Renamon as they started away. "I don't see why we have to sit twenty minutes in a frosty theater to see sneak peeks of things we'll probably never go see." 

"It's all part of the experience!" 

"That's experience I could do without." 

Renamon chuckled softly; they were going to be like that all the way to the theater. And quite probably even beyond. 

* * *

"Frosty" wasn't exactly the word Ruki would really have used to describe the theater that night. "Absolute bone-chilling cold" came to mind. Or perhaps "Antarctica on a really _cold_ night" would have been even more fitting. The general point of the matter was if she and Renamon hadn't already killed Meramon, she would've done him in for causing the wreck of her jacket. She was _cold_. 

There had to be something that could help keep her warm. There would be no use of having paid for the movie if all she could remember was how much her teeth were chattering. Having the ice-cold soda in her hands wasn't really helping matters all that much either. 

"Give me that!" She yanked the popcorn out of Ryou's hands, thrusting the large drink to him as he did. "You can carry that, I want these!" 

"Hey, if it means that much to you!" Ryou stopped the drink top from falling off as they hunted for a pair of seats. "At least we got here in time for the previews." 

Ruki considered the results of strangling him. _It's probably not worth it. Even if it would be really, really satisfying._ She tightened her hands around the popcorn box, almost sucking in the warmth from it. _It was cold enough outside, I'm surprised it's not **snowing** in here!_ Why were theaters always air conditioned to the point of frostbite? It made no sense to her. 

Well, complaining about it wasn't going to get the heat turned up any time soon. She could handle it for a couple of hours, and then she'd be back home where it was actually _warm_. 

"Here's a good spot." Ryou plopped down into the chair and made himself comfortable. "Glad that Meramon didn't make us too late." 

Ruki settled into her own chair, putting the popcorn in her lap. "At least it was just a Meramon. It _could_ have been something really dangerous." 

"Yeah, like another photographer wanting me for a photo shoot." Ryou shuddered at the thought, ignoring the half-smirk Ruki shot towards him. Being famous had brought him money, a scholarship to one of the best universities in Tokyo, and a lot of girls following him pretty much anywhere he went, telling him just how awesome he was. Ryou was honest enough with himself by now to know he wasn't all _that_. That was also one of the reasons why he loved dating Ruki so much. She kept his ego under control. 

Of course there were those people in college who got on him about being a nineteen year old who was dating a fifteen year old. Those were usually the people who had never met Ruki, or who thought her reputation was all smoke and mirrors. When they found out just how wrong they were, they usually shut up. If they didn't, Ruki found some way to shut them up. 

Ruki gripped the popcorn box a little more tightly, doing her best to draw what heat she could out of it. Unfortunately, popcorn couldn't remain hot forever, especially not when being kept in a very cold theater. She could already feel the warmth seeping out of it, and her fingers were getting chillier and chillier. So was the rest of her, for that matter. 

_This is all Meramon's fault. All he had to do was just stay home in the Digital World and not bother us, and I wouldn't be sitting here shivering like an idiot! Why are these places so **cold**?_

She looked up as a warm hand suddenly folded itself around her own. Ryou smiled slightly back at her, tightening his grip for a moment before he pulled his hand away and stood up. She was confused for a moment, until he started to remove his jacket. "Here, this should help you keep warm until the movie's over." He wrapped it around her neatly, and sat back down again, taking her hand once more. 

_That really helps._ She smiled briefly as she pulled the jacket tightly around her. It was a little big on her, but that just gave it more material to keep her warm with. _Kind of like Ryou. I don't mind the fact he's older than I am. He's got a **little** more maturity than most of the guys I know anyway._ She understood herself a little better these days as well, and in her most honest moments, she knew that she wasn't easy to live with, much less just be friends with. She also couldn't say that bothered her. _You don't value what's easy to get._ Making friends hadn't been easy for her, so she kept every one of them close to her heart. Even when they were annoying, like Ryou or Hirokazu had a tendency to be. 

The chill of the theater didn't really bother her after that. Their hands remained entwined about each other all the time as they murmured the occasional comment about the movie to each other. She even felt good enough to glare fiercely at a pair of giggling female type of things who recognized Ryou as they were heading out of the theater and wanted his autograph. 

"If you ever want to go on a date instead of taking your little friend to the movies..." One of them smiled winningly and suggestively at him. Ryou just stared at her, and Ruki smothered a grin. His cluelessness was just a part of his charm. Or so he liked to keep on telling her, at least. 

"Actually, we _are_ on a date." Ruki told her, raising their joined hands, a smug sort of satisfaction in her voice. "So if there's nothing else, we've got to be going." 

The young woman, who had to be about twenty or so, stared down at her for a moment, then flashed another smile at Ryou. "Whenever you're ready for the big leagues, then." 

"I've been playing out of _your_ league for years, miss," Ryou retorted, his brain catching up with the situation suddenly. "Ready to go, Ruki?" 

"I've been ready." Without a backward glance, both of them headed for the door. Ruki caught a glimpse of the intruding other in the glass of the door and mentally smirked. There was just nothing quite like the look of pure _shock_ on someone else's face. This had to be the kind of situation that the word 'flabbergasted' was invented for. 

Once they got outside, everything between them was quiet, despite the faint air of double triumph hovering between them. Destroying a rampaging Meramon _and_ getting rid of yet another annoying fangirl with the brains of a shrimp and the manners of a rabid dog put them both in a good mood. 

"That really made me hungry." Ryou declared, stretching his arms a little in the time honored fashion of a guy trying to get one of those arms around his girlfriend. Ruki casually pushed him away, grinning. 

"Don't try that right now, Ryou." She wasn't going to let him put more into this than she was ready for, and he knew it, and she knew that he knew it. _Not that he doesn't keep on trying._ Thankfully, unlike some of the idiots she knew around the neighborhood, Ryou knew when to stop. If he hadn't, she would have pulled a stunt on him like something one of her friends in Shibuya had done with a guy who was too stuck on himself to take no for an answer: beating him upside the head with the nearest and most convenient blunt object. Ever since then, Kobayashi had been the most polite and restrained male that half of the city had ever seen. He'd even been known to wave good-bye to his dates from a good fifty yards from their front door. 

"Can't blame a guy for trying, can you?" Ryou grinned briefly at her, ducking her playful swat at the same time. "Well, maybe _you_ can." 

"Funny, Ryou, funny. Come on, there's a good restaurant over here. I saw it when Renamon and I were hunting down that renegade Wild One the other day." It was amazing what you could find around here if you were absolutely starving and paid attention to your nose. It had also helped when the Digimon you were after had tried to hide in there. The results hadn't been pretty, or easy to clean up, but at least the cook had wound up with a partner who knew soups, sauces, and everything else as well as she did. She and Floramon were doing quite well together, the last time Ruki had heard. 

As soon as they entered, the hostess hurried over and bowed her welcome, eyes bright and happy at the sight of the two Tamers. "Welcome, welcome! Your meal will be on the house tonight, in thanks for bringing us Floramon!" 

"Hey, thanks!" Ryou grinned; he wasn't poor by any means, but no one sane turned down free food. "I guess it's working out with her here, then?" He hadn't heard a thing about this prior to what Ruki had told him just a few seconds earlier, but it didn't bother him to put up a little falsity for appearance's sake. 

"Oh, absolutely!" The hostress seated them at one of the better tables and put the menus in front of them. "If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know." 

Ruki nodded as she started to go over the food options. "Glad everything worked out all right." 

"Thanks to you and your partner, Makino-san." The hostress bowed once more, then hurried off. Ruki grinned a touch to herself; there were definite perks to being a Digimon Tamer. She had a feeling this was going to be one very excellent ending to their anniversary date. 

* * *

"Well, except for losing my jacket, everything was just great tonight." Ruki stood underneath the overhang by her front door, looking at Ryou. She was almost positive her mother and grandmother weren't too far from the door, either, waiting for her to be finished. It was just a parental type of thing they did. 

"I know. And the fight wasn't that horrible, either. It kind of spiced things up a little." Ryou grinned a little. "That kind of thing just happens, you know?" 

"I know." She leaned forward a little and brushed her lips across his for a few heartbeats. As kisses went, it could've been much better, but there were few that were more heartfelt. "I'll see you around, Ryou." 

"You better believe you will. I'm coming over tomorrow for that rematch." Ryou grinned teasingly at her as she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm going to win this time, you, you know." 

He never stopped. Never. "That's what you always say. Get out of here. And be back at noon sharp, I'll be ready to trounce you within an inch of your life. I resorted my deck and I've added a lot of fun things to play with." The light of combat flared in her pale violet eyes, and Ryou had never seen her looking more magnificent. "See you then." 

"With pleasure." He hugged her quickly, then hurried on down the road. Ruki watched as he vanished out of sight, then reached for the doorknob. Something caught her eye just then, and she laughed. 

_He'd better come back...because I've still got his jacket!_

And it was still keeping her warm. 

**

The End

**


End file.
